Northeastern Illinois University (NEIU) is applying for the 10-week EARDA residency and training. Linda M. Rueckert, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, is the nominee for the director of the Office of Research Development (ORD). In nearly ten years at NEIU, Dr. Rueckert has taken a leading role in increasing faculty and student research involvement. She has served on many cross-disciplinary committees involved in enhancing NEIU's research, including the steering committee of the annual student research symposium, the Institutional Review Board, the General Travel Fund committee, and Assessment Task Force. A member of the Council for Undergraduate Research (CUR), Dr. Rueckert was elected as a Councilor for CUR's Psychology Division in 1998, and she began a 2-year term as Psychology Division Chair in June 2004. She served as Psychology Division editor and is Issue Editor for CUR's journal. Dr. Rueckert has developed a strong working relationship with faculty at NEIU. She collaborated with several members of the psychology department to help other faculty build an assessment component into their general education courses. NEIU is a fully accredited university in Chicago and the only public Hispanic-serving 4-year institution in Illinois. Fall 2004 enrollment was 12,164. The average student age was 28.5;for an undergraduate it was 26. Females were 63% of total enrollment and 63% of undergraduates. Twenty-nine percent of undergraduates were Hispanic;12% were African-American;and 11% were Asian. Of the total enrollment, 12% were African-American;25% were Hispanic;and 10% were Asian. The EARDA will offer NEIU many benefits including an office which will house information on how to develop research protocols, prepare research applications, submit competitive articles to peer reviewed journals, incorporate students into faculty research, and funds to support small research grants which may lead to externally supported research. Measurable objectives include annual increases in the number of research applications submitted for external funding, number of applications funded, amount of recovered F&A, and the number of faculty and students involved in research.